CTTU plans protests over teacher shortage, error-filled text books

[TamilNet, Monday, 20 June 2005, 10:31 GMT]
The Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union (CTTU) said Sunday that it will organize trade union action if the Ministry of Education fails to take constructive measures to implement several demands including setting up of a separate Tamil Administrative Unit in the ministry before July 25. As a first step the CTTU will hold a one-day token strike after the deadline expires, said Mr.N.Rajanathan, and Mr.T Mahasivam, President and General Secretary of the CTTU briefing the press after the conclusion of the Working Committee meeting held in Trincomalee.

They said at the Working Committee of the CTTU discussed several issues related to and discrimination affecting the Tamil medium education, teachers and students, and decided on a plan of future actions.

In a resolution the CTTU thanked the Ministry of Education, which comes under Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge, for taking positive steps to solve some shortcomings that prevailed for long in the Sri Lanka Teacher Service through a new circular.

The CTTU working committee in separate resolution said it will organize a one-day token strike following demands before July 25:

• Immediate steps should be taken to set up a separate Tamil Administrative Unit in the Ministry of Education to streamline Tamil medium education activities and to address problems confronting the Tamil medium education including teacher shortage and filling all vacancies exist in the Tamil education administrative service in the northeast region.
• Action should be taken to post Tamil medium officers to supervise Tamil medium schools in the other provinces.
• Prompt steps should be taken to supply new Tamil medium Textbooks in quality language as already distributed textbooks contain a number of unacceptable grammatical errors.